IRATA Safety Notices

IRATA Safety Bulletin 11 - Severed Working Line (November 2009)

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IRATA Safety Notice on Petzl Stop Descender (October 2009)

• IRATA report on cracked bobbins on Petzl Stop Descender : IRATA have published a safety bulletin after being informed that 3 Petzl Stop Descenders have been inspected and cracks found on the upper pulley.
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Shunt Guidance - IRATA information on use of the shunt (August 2009)

• The Petzl Shunt is probably the most widely used back-up device used in rope access.  The instructions issued with a new shunt indicate a cross through use wiht a lanyard, which is the normal method of use in rope access.
• The attached statement from Petzl explains the apparent contradiction and passes responsibility for use as a back-up device to those involved in selection of equipment and to the users.  Petzl also makes specific reference to loads greater than one person.
• The reader is directed to Shunt Guidance January 2008, which note that a shunt used in the regular way (ie. slack back-up lanyard/approximate fall factor 1) is most likely to sip many metres when used with a two person load if there were a problem with the working line or descender.
• For Petzl Statement on use of the Shunt in professional rope access work please click here.

IRATA Safety Notice - General UK Legislative Requirements (August 2009)

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IRATA Safety Bulletin 10 - Snagged Rope Incident (August 2009)

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IRATA Safety Bulletin 9 - Rock Stabilisation Incident (August 2009)

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IRATA Safety Bulletin 8 - Dangerous Knots (January 2009)

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IRATA Safety Bulletin 7 - How to avoid dropping back-up (December 2008)

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IRATA Safety Bulletin 6 - Cow's Tail Caught (November 2008)

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IRATA Safety Bulletin 5 - Grit Blasting Incident (October 2008)

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IRATA Safety Bulletin 4 - Window Cleaning Incident (October 2008)

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IRATA Safety Bulletin 3 - Grit Blasting Incident (October 2008)

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IRATA Safety Bulletin 2 - Periodic Examination of Fall Protection Systems for Work at Height Horizontal, Flexible Anchor Liens - EN795 Class 'C' (August 2008)

• Please note the news items below is prepared by Work at Height Safety Associations.
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IRATA Safety Bulletin 1 - Observations on a Rope Access Incident Reported Issued by the Australian Rope Access Associations (August 2008)

• Please note the news items below is prepared by Work at Height Safety Associations.
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• Gold Coat Accident Final Report

Shunt Guidance - Tests on Backup Systems under Rescue Loads to Replicate Risks Encountered during Routine Training (January 2008)

• 'Tests on backup systems under rescue loads to replicate risks encountered during routine training' were proposed by and carried out with equipment and facilities provided by SpanSet Ltd, during IRATA Assessors Workshop.  The following advice is given even though the situation described below is highly unlikely to occur.

Shunt Guidance

Warning : If there were working rope failure during a two-person rescue, a shunt is likely to slip many metres if used in a regular way (ie. slack back-up lanyard/approximate fall factor 1).  For users of all back-up devices (but particularly shunts) the following advice would be helpful :

"It is good practice at all times to minimise slack in the back-up lanyard, but especially during a two-person rescue.  Keep the potential distance to an absolute minimum by having minimal slack in the hack-up lanyard (January 2008).

• IRATA Work and Safety Report 08/01 - Summary of Incidents reported on Form 021 2006/2007